Houston - If you watch Rickie Weeks take batting practice every day, it's evident that his ankle doesn't stop him from rocketing balls all over the park.

That has caught manager Ron Roenicke's attention as well, which is why he has thought about bringing Weeks back from his ankle injury as a pinch hitter until he is ready to play second base regularly.

"We've talked about that," said Roenicke. "We could let him hit, then run for him. That's the problem. He would have to go easy on it.

"There's issues both ways. Are you setting him back any from being a full-time guy if you do that? If we're setting him back from being a full-time guy, then I don't think it's very smart to do it.

"But if that isn't setting him back at all doing it, then maybe let's do it. It doesn't hurt us to activate him at any time (because of expanded rosters). We're not really at that point yet. He's got to get better at what he's doing before I do that. But it is real tempting."

Otherwise, Roenicke said it will probably be mid-month before Weeks is ready to return to action at second base. He still hasn't made hard turns on the ankle or done a lot of serious lateral movement.

As for pinch-hitting, Weeks said, "It's intriguing, but Ron hasn't said anything to me about it yet, so there's really not much I can say."

Waiting for the bats

During the Brewers' 27-5 surge from July 26 to Aug. 28, they scored less than four runs 12 times and went 8-4 in those games. It was pitching that carried the Brewers through much of that stretch, with the offense chipping in some timely hits.

In getting swept by St. Louis in a three-game series at the end of their last home stand, the Brewers scored a total of eight runs. So, is this offense capable of carrying the team should the pitching falter for a stretch?

"We're certainly capable of doing it," said Roenicke. "We've seen it in stretches. We just haven't maintained it over a long period of time. That's also why we won all those games when we were pitching well. Somebody seemed to stay hot.

"It would be nice to come out where everybody is swinging it, and we go on a roll offensively. We're definitely capable of doing it and we have done it. That would be nice to see."

General manager Doug Melvin noted that even though his offense has been inconsistent throughout the season, the Brewers still ranked sixth in the NL with 609 runs scored.

"That's pretty high," said Melvin. "We've had some timely hits. The inconsistency, players up and down, that's going to happen.

"Offense is down all around baseball. Home runs are down. Pitching is better this year and offense is down. The Cardinals have been better than us with runners in scoring position (.292 to .267).

Mulling more call-ups

Melvin said he is considering further call-ups once the minor-league season ends Monday. He has thought about calling up one of two starting pitchers who excelled at Nashville, Wily Peralta or Michael Fiers.

"We're going to talk about it," he said. "You'd like them to come up if they have a chance to pitch a few innings. But not just to be here. I doubt if we'd bring them both up."

Melvin did say reliever Tim Dillard would come back from Nashville once that season is over.

Enjoying the moment

Neither centerfielder Logan Schafer nor catcher Martin Maldonado, both summoned Thursday from Nashville, said they expected to get called up despite excellent seasons.

"It was the farthest thing from my mind," said Schafer. "It still hasn't hit me. I'm still floating right now."

Schafer missed the first month of the season after breaking his right thumb in the Brewers' spring camp. But he quickly worked his way into game shape at Class AA Huntsville before moving up to Nashville, where he batted .331 in 40 games.

"I ended up getting over 400 (plate appearances)," said Schafer, who will pick up more in the Arizona Fall League. "I played damn near every day. I'm pretty proud of that."

Maldonado, a career .225 hitter in 404 minor-league games entering 2011, was the real surprise. Considered primarily a defensive specialist, he batted .264 in 64 games with Huntsville and .321 with eight homers in 39 games for Nashville.

"I made a few adjustments in winter ball," said Maldonado, who also credited Nashville hitting coach Sandy Guerrero. "I have a lot more confidence in myself. Everybody has something to prove. I keep working at it."

About Tom Haudricourt

Tom Haudricourt covers the Brewers and Major League Baseball. He was voted Wisconsin Sports Writer of Year for 2011 and 2012 by National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.